1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrical connector and in particular to a board-to-board electrical connector which interlockingly engages two mating contact portions.
2. The Prior Art
Board-to-board connectors are commonly used to connect two members such as printed circuit boards or a battery supply casing and a printed circuit board. Such connectors usually involve the mating of a male portion with a female portion which are respectively mounted onto each member. Several board-to-board connectors have been previously disclosed including U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,632,475, 4,715,819, 4,975,062, 4,975,067, and 5,551,883. However, these connectors lack an additional engagement means to ensure a consistent electrical connection within the connector therefore resulting in discontinuous communication between the two members.
FIG. 1 shows a typical prior art board-to-board electrical connector comprising a male portion 80 and a female portion 70. The male portion 80 forming a plurality of conductive plate contacts 85 between opposing end walls 83 engages with the female portion 70 defining opposing lateral slots 76 at end positions thereof and a plurality of parallel slots 72 therebetween wherein the end walls 83 and the plate contacts 85 of the male portion 80 are respectively received within the lateral slots 76 and the parallel slots 72 of the female portion 70. A plurality of conductive contacts (not shown) respectively received in the parallel slots 72 of the female portion 70 engage with the plate contacts 85 of the male portion 80 thereby establishing an electrical connection within the connector. The male portion 80 and the female portion 70 are respectively mounted onto two members, e.g. PC boards, to electrically and orthogonally connect the members, as seen in FIG. 2.
Since the structure of the prior art board-to-board connector does not provide any additional engagement feature to ensure a consistent connection within the connector, the stability of the connection is solely dependent upon the precise positioning of the two members being connected. A slight deviation in the placement of the members or a vibration may cause the male portion 80 to rotate with respect to the female portion 70 resulting in an inconsistent electrical contact therebetween. This shortcoming may get worse when these two members are in a mutually perpendicular relationship due to a bending moment occurring thereabout.
Due to the foregoing, it has become desirable to develop a board-to-board electrical connector which includes an additional engagement feature for maintaining a constant electrical connection within the connector.